1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tire traction enhancement devices for a vehicle wheel assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices and methods to secure tire traction enhancement devices to a vehicle wheel assembly.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Tire traction enhancement devices, referred herein as tire traction devices, including those commonly known as tire chains, provide increased traction to a vehicle wheel assembly. When a tire of a wheel assembly provides inadequate traction for a vehicle, a tire traction device may be installed onto the tire by the operator of the vehicle and employed until road conditions improve to the point where the tire traction device becomes unnecessary. Thus, it is important that the tire traction device be simple to install and remove.
Many tire traction devices, when positioned flat on the ground, are ladder-like, having two parallel side chains connected by a plurality of transverse traction chains. The length of the side chains is generally approximately equal to the circumference of the tire, or slightly less, while the length of the traction chains is generally slightly greater than the tire tread width. While various tire traction devices may employ cables or plastic straps in place of chains, the assembly of such tire traction devices is similar to those employing chains.
To install a typical tire traction device, it is first draped over the top of the tire. The length of the traction chains is such that the side chains form a circle concentric with and adjacent to the sidewall of the tire. A tire traction device securing apparatus, such as that depicted in FIG. 1, is then attached to the side chains to remove the slack from the side and traction chains to secure the tire traction device to the tire. Conventional tire traction device securing apparatus 100 includes an elastic loop 110 and a plurality of hooks 120. The plurality of hooks 120 may be movable about the elastic loop 110 or may be crimped to elastic loop 120. To install tire traction device securing apparatus 100, each hook 120 is attached to a location on a side chain of a tire traction device. Generally, a first hook is attached, and then a second hook is selected and attached at another location on the side chain, typically a location approximately 180° from the first attached hook. With two hooks 120 attached, elastic loop 110 is stretched and distorted into a tight ellipse. After the first two hooks are installed, it is difficult to install the third hook because one must insert a hand into this tight ellipse and further stretch elastic loop 110. As hooks are attached, elastic loop 110 must stretch further and so it becomes harder to attach each successive hook 120 to the side chain. Also, after attaching the first two hooks, the thickness of the loop material becomes narrowed from the tension, and the unattached hooks become movable about the elastic loop 110 (even if initially crimped to the loop material) and must then be accurately positioned to locations on the side chain to adequately remove slack from each tire quadrant. However, because the unattached hooks cannot be moved beyond the first two attached hooks, properly securing the tire traction device to the tire requires correctly selecting first two hooks of the plurality and correctly positioning them on the side chain. For these reasons it is difficult to install traction device securing apparatus 100, especially during inclement weather.
Furthermore, because the single elastic loop 110 provides the only source of tension, conventional tire traction device securing apparatus 100 will fail to secure the tire traction device to the tire if the elastic loop 110 breaks. Hence, because a single break in loop 110 will remove all tension from each of the plurality of hooks 120, complete failure of tire traction device securing apparatus 100 may occur at any time with little or no warning.